Hundreds of runners who crossed the finish line at the 2026 Edmonton Marathon felt unusually tired and confused by their slow times. Now, race organizers have admitted the reason: the course was 674.4 metres too long.
A standard marathon distance is 42.195 kilometres. However, an extra detour was added to avoid construction around the Wellington Bridge. This detour added nearly half a mile to the race, ruining personal records and affecting qualification times for major events like the Boston Marathon.
Many runners use the Edmonton race specifically to qualify for Boston, where just a few seconds can determine whether an athlete is accepted. Canadian Olympian Natasha Wodak said she felt her pace slowing down unexpectedly in the final hundreds of metres. When she saw her final time, she was shocked. She emphasized that having an accurate distance is the most critical part of a race after runner safety.
Race organizers initially insisted the course was officially certified and correct. However, after many participants complained online and in Canadian media, organizers conducted a detailed review and confirmed the mistake.
Race director Tom Keogh stated that organizers do not take the error lightly and acknowledged that finishing times did not reflect the athletes' hard work. The event team will now review its certification process to ensure that the error never happens again.